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Editor's pick: The blazing sun can solve water shortages

From
Graham Hagens, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Olive Heffernan says the idea of towing icebergs to Cape Town in South Africa is dubious and the city must consider alternatives to meet its future water requirements, including possible desalination of seawater (19 May, p 20). In fact, Cape Town is actively involved in a number of desalination projects, with the focus on reverse osmosis.

This technology has two problems: it produces concentrated brine that must be disposed of, and it uses lots of energy. The long-term investment of building pipes far out into the ocean can solve the disposal problem.